This writer and active commentator on America’s body politic finds great difficulty conjuring up any winnable Democratic Party candidate or Democratic policy platform.
There should be no surprise here, especially in light of their spectacular trifecta presidential and congressional losses.
Tip-toeing through a doo-do field of recent messaging misses and messes should serve as a reminder of reasons why, as even a left-leaning NPR headline observes, "After major 2024 defeats, the Democratic Party searches for a new direction."
President Biden Will 'Unify America'
What ever happened to Joe Biden’s promise during his Nov. 7, 2020, victory speech stating "I sought this office to restore the soul of America. . . I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide but to unify"?
Instead, we got the most divisively partisan and politically weaponized administration in memory that sought to disqualify, bankrupt, and imprison his leading 2024 opponent by all means possible, even characterizing Trump supporters as "garbage."
Trump Election Posed a 'Criminal Threat'
President Biden labeled election opponent Donald Trump a "convicted felon" who posed a threat to the United States following a New York jury's finding that he'd mischaracterized "hush money" payments to porn actress Stormy Danials as a business expense.
A case that was described as an "abomination" because, "there was no crime there."
A reasoned assessment former U.S. Atty. William "Bill" Barr.
Perhaps compare the significance of this alleged offense with former-Vice President Biden’s televised threat to withdraw a billion-dollar U.S. Ukraine loan guarantee if they didn’t fire the prosecutor of a corrupt energy company that was paying son Hunter a million-dollar salary . . . along with "The Big Guy's" connections to more than $20 million, reportedly received by at least nine Biden family members from Ukraine, China, Russia, and numerous and other countries.
Biden Was at the 'Top of His Game'
After U.S. Special Counsel Robert Hur released a report detailing Joe Biden’s memory struggles, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and other Democratic Party leaders assured us that he was fully up to the challenge of leading the nation and free world.
During a Feb, 2024, press conference, Schumer insisted, "His mental acuity is great, it’s fine, it’s as good as it’s been over the years. All this right-wing propaganda that his mental acuity has declined is wrong."
That myth publicly imploded during Biden’s ill-fated presidential debate with Trump.
The Southern Border Was 'Secure'
Then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas who told “Meet the Press” that "The most difficult part about a meeting with President Biden is preparing for it because he is sharp, intensely probing and detail-oriented and focused."
Mayorkas also repeatedly assured us that the U.S. southern border with Mexico was secure despite obvious contrary evidence.
Democrats knew this to be false all along: Vice President Kamala Harris, who was named as border czar early on, later strongly disavowed that dubious distinction when her party dumped Biden and ran her as their 2024 alternate candidate after his could no longer be hidden.
'Bidenomics' Inflation Was 'Transitory'
In August 2023, Kamala proclaimed: "Bidenomics is working. Since we took office, we have created more than 13 million jobs — that's more jobs created in two and a half years than any administration has created in four” . . . not mentioning this reemployment followed national COVID-19 shutdowns.
And remember when Biden Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen who championed team Biden’s government spendathon through such bills as the American Rescue Plan Act ($1.8 trillion) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act ($765 billion) claimed that inflation was just transitory?
So, how’s all that "Bidenomics" magic money working out?
That Transition to 'Clean Energy'
Prevailing Democratic policies envision a rapid government regulatory and subsidy-driven transition from a vital economic and social lifeblood of abundant, reliable fossil sources that provide more than 80% of U.S. energy to friendly breezes and sunbeams that intermittently provide about 3%.
Reversing Trump actions, President Biden has terminated the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada while allowing the Nord Stream 2 subsea pipeline to supply Russian gas to Germany as it has simultaneously blocked U.S. liquified natural gas exports to our European allies.
Just two weeks before turning over White House keys, outgoing Biden invoked a permanent ban on oil and gas leasing over 625 million acres of offshore waters surrounding the country, essentially removing the entire Atlantic Coast, eastern Gulf of Mexico, the West Coast, and Alaska’s Northern Bering Sea from future exploration, development, or production.
Electric Vehicles Are “Best for Everyone”
Last March, the Harris-Biden administration finalized a crackdown on gas cars, pushing the EPA to enact regulations expected to result in more than two-thirds of passenger cars and light trucks sold by 2032 to be electric or hybrid vehicles.
In comparison, 84% of all cars sold in America are powered by internal combustion engines despite $7,500 federal tax credit subsidies offered as EV incentives to reluctant buyers and jacked-up costs for gasoline models needed to keep vehicle manufacturers financially afloat.
Meanwhile, Ford, which posted a $62,016 loss on each EV it sold during the third quarter of 2023, had been offering a $7,500 cash rebate on top of the federal tax credit on some F-150 Lightning pickup trucks.
Having worked to polarize the country, weaponize the DOJ, abandon border sovereignty, end energy security, deflate currency value, dictate what cars and trucks we can purchase - and subsequently experience a landslide election defeat — Democrats obviously need a very different coaching staff, game plan, and new campaign slogan.
Regarding the latter: I’ll suggest MDSA — "Make Democrats Sane Again."
That is, if it's even remotely possible.
Larry Bell is an endowed professor of space architecture at the University of Houston where he founded the Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture and the graduate space architecture program. His latest of 12 books is "Architectures Beyond Boxes and Boundaries: My Life By Design" (2022). Read Larry Bell's Reports — More Here.